The U.S. Department of Commerce said Monday it has decided to impose antidumping tariffs on refrigerators made by Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., which Whirlpool Corp. accused of being sold at below-market prices.The department said that it will impose antidumping duties of as much

IndustryMarch 20, 2012

Hyundai Motor Co.’s and Kia Motors Corp.’s purchases of shares in affiliate Hyundai Hysco Co. increases the likelihood that Hyundai Motor Group will merge its steel units, according to Tong Yang Securities Co.Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest automaker, bought 2.6 million Hysco shares and Kia acquired 1.4 million, both from Japan’s JFE Steel Corp., the Seoul-based companies said in separate statements after the market’s close on March 16.The combined purchases, equivalent to about a 5 percent

March 19, 2012

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., a Korean shipbuilder, on Monday set a milestone in vessel construction with the delivery of its 600th product in just 14 years.The affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world’s largest shipyard, said it handed over a container vessel with a capacity of 1,000 twenty-foot equivalent units to CK Line Co., a Seoul-based shipping line. The accomplishment came only 14 years after Hyundai Mipo tapped the market in 1997 with a focus on mid-size product carriers, the c

IndustryMarch 19, 2012

Daewoo Electronics said Monday that it is seeking to expand its presence in the U.S. home appliance market with its new line-up of microwaves and small washing machines throughout this year.By signing an agreement with U.S retail giant Walmart, the company plans to ship 250,000 units of 26 liter microwaves to 1,500 different branches of Walmart located throughout the U.S. for this year.The company also expects to engage in additional talks with Walmart next month to supply an expanded lineup of

IndustryMarch 19, 2012

Korea’s financial watchdog said Monday that it will conduct stress tests on the country’s financial holding firms in a bid to shield the country from a potential financial crisis.The Financial Supervisory Service has been conducting stress tests on players in each financial sector on a quarterly basis, and pressing banks, insurers and securities firms to beef up their foreign currency liquidity and other financial health.Stress tests are usually conducted to measure how well lenders and other pl

March 19, 2012

Korean stocks closed 0.62 percent higher to a six-month high on Monday as encouraging signs in the U.S. economy and global economic optimism boosted large-cap exporters, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI rose 2.56 points to 2,047, the highest close since Aug. 3, 2011. Trading volume was moderate at 541 million shares worth 4.74 trillion won ($4.22 billion) with losers leading gainers 434 to 385.“Foreign investors bought more local stocks in the l

March 19, 2012

Korean banks’ short-term foreign borrowing costs hit an over 3-year low in February amid eased concerns over the eurozone crisis, the financial watchdog said Monday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the spread on short-term foreign borrowing by 16 local lenders stood at 8.8 basis points, a drop of 23.9 basis points from January. A basis point is 0.01 percentage points.The February figure is the lowest since the watchdog began to compile related data in 2009.The spread on mid and lo

March 19, 2012

The Europe-Korea Foundation, the charity arm of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea, will hold a scholarship donation ceremony in Seoul on Thursday, organizers said. The EKF scholarship program assists many talented young students who are unable to further their academic careers due to financial instability. The EKF has selected nine college students who live in social welfare centers in Seoul or on their own after leaving the centers, the organizers said.The foundation said that bec

March 19, 2012

The American Chamber of Commerce will hold committee meetings on real estate and Korean politics this week.A meeting on Thursday will discuss the current state and future outlook of the commercial and retail real estate market in Korea as well as large scale development projects. The meeting will be at 7:30 a.m. at Lotte Hotel in Seoul and will examine issues such as the growing and declining areas of real estate, engines of growth in retail development, the track record for large-scale developm

March 19, 2012

The Seoul branch of the IE Business School will hold a panel discussion examining the future of the job market Tuesday.The event will discuss what human resource managers are looking for in new recruits.Professor William Davila from IE Business School will speak about the importance of strategic career planning and human resource development in his lecture on the future of HR and the job market. Following his brief overview, panelists are scheduled to share their own thoughts on these issues and

March 19, 2012

The French Chamber of Commerce plans to discuss the impact of the eurozone crisis on the local economy at a seminar in Seoul on Wednesday.Guest speakers will be Yonsei-SERI EU Center director Park Young-ryeol, Le Figaro correspondent Sebastien Falletti, deputy bureau chief for Reuters Korea Yoo Choon-sik and Coface Services Korea general manager Ryu Jin-hak.The lunch will be held from 11:30 a.m. at the Novotel Seoul Ambassador Gangnam hotel in Yeoksam-dong.The meeting will be held in English and

March 19, 2012